Ministers are talking about making social networks directly liable for the content that gets published on their platforms.
Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Social networks are facing a new legislative crackdown as worries about child safety online mount.

While all sides agree that protecting children online is of paramount importance, the calls have led to a tense conflict between larger social networks, who argue that they cannot be held to an expectation of perfection, and the government, which is increasingly threatening to redefine the roles of internet companies if they won’t act voluntarily.

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Why is this debate happening now?

The immediate cause is a campaign by the father of Molly Russell, a 14-year-old girl who killed herself in November 2017. Her family later found she had viewed social media content linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide.

Last month, her father, Ian Russell, said he had “no doubt Instagram helped kill my daughter”, blaming algorithms used by the platform for enabling her to view more harmful content.

Why are algorithms being blamed?

Many social networks, including Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube, automatically curate what they show visitors in order to personalise the site. Ideally, that means that people who like cooking videos see more cooking videos, and people who like board games see more board games.

But the same systems have also acted to promote the worst sides of their users. Someone who searches for content relating to depression or self-harm, for instance, may find their recommendations become overrun with more of the same, pushing them in a destructive spiral.

What has Instagram done in response?

The app’s head, Adam Mosseri, said yesterday that he was “deeply moved” by Molly’s story and acknowledged his platform was “not yet where [it] needs to be” on the issues of suicide and self-harm.

Mosseri, who ran the Facebook News Feed before being promoted to his current role in 2018, said that the encouragement of suicide and self-harm was banned on the site, but admitted that Instagram relies on users to report the content before it is purged.

“The bottom line is we do not yet find enough of these images before they’re seen by other people,” he added.

What is the government threatening to do?

Ministers are talking about redefining the role of social networks to hold them directly liable for the content that gets published on their platforms, in effect enshrining them as publishers in law.

The digital minister, Margot James, is expected to announce proposals to crack down on the companies, saying that the government will introduce laws that force social media platforms to remove illegal content, and to prioritise the protection of users beyond their commercial interests.

Meanwhile, parliament has also been suggesting its own form of regulation. Last week, the science and technology committee concluded that social media companies must be subject to a legal duty of care to help protect young people’s health and wellbeing when accessing their sites.

Norman Lamb, the committee’s chair, said that “social media companies – who have a clear responsibility towards particularly young users – seem to be in no rush to share vital data with academics that could help tackle the very real harms our young people face in the virtual world.”

What are the actual effects of social media on self-harm?

The evidence is patchy.

One UK study found self-harm in girls aged 13-16 rose 68% from 2011 to 2014, a period that mirrors a boom in social media usage. But the authors from the University of Manchester warned more research was necessary to attribute a cause and they suggested it could partly reflect girls being more willing to talk.

Another study led by the University of Oxford said moderate use could be beneficial but extreme usage may have a minor negative influence, pointing towards limiting adolescents’ technology use.

In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.